Every songwriter needs a nudge sometimes to keep writing.

The first job of playing acoustic guitar is to make those strings ring, with a clear and rich tone. The second is to make them stop.

Inspiration may be impossible to define or control or predict, but that doesn’t mean that we have to just sit around idly waiting for it.

How to add a bluesy edge to your chord progressions.

The skeleton key for countless songs in folk, country, rock, blues, and beyond.

Swapping out a chord or two can really liven up a progression and also help you discover new melodic ideas to sing on top.

A songwriter’s guide, continued. (See the lesson on major keys.)

Get some of that alternate-tuning mojo without straying too far from standard tuning.

A songwriter’s guide.